War With Iran

I have a bunch of my more regular blog posts ready to share here but it did not feel right to publish any of them right now, with everything that is currently going on here. Israel was already at war and we are now in the middle of an even bigger one. Last Thursday evening at 3:30am, my phone started blaring with a siren I’ve never heard before. I thought it was just another Houthi missile, something that we have sadly got used to over the past few months, but this time it was different. It was a more urgent siren with a more urgent request. A short while before Israel had pre-emptively struck Iran to remove its nuclear capability and remove the threat over Israel’s head. The country was expecting a response and we needed to get to a safe place.

For years, the Iranian regime has been stating that it has the long-range goal of destroying Israel, at the same time advancing toward obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran was also behind the 7th October attacks, arming and funding the Hamas terror organization, and directly attacking Israel twice, firing hundreds of missiles toward the State of Israel in April and November 2024. The time had come for Israel to take action, targeting Iran’s military and nuclear facilities, the military leadership and the scientists behind Iran’s nuclear program.

In the days since the attack we have basically stayed at home. The last few nights we have been woken multiple times by sirens and, on one occasion, just by the loud booms. Rocket debris has fallen in the city where I live. Schools are closed. Workplaces are closed. Only essential services remain operational. The airspace and waters around the country are closed and so it looks like our upcoming trip to the UK, my first one since losing Gadi, will not happen. It is important to remember that while Israel is targeting military and nuclear facilities, Iran targets civilians and sadly a number of Israelis have already lost their lives.

Iran was taken over by a dictatorship. The transition to an Islamic Republic with dictatorial characteristics occurred steadily after the 1979 revolution, which overthrew the last Shah of Iran. The country is weeks away from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It was now or never for Israel. If Iran is ultimately able to destroy Israel, the western world will be the next target.

I am tired and I am scared.

These photos were taken just 10 days ago at a chocolate and cocktails workshop our son and his girlfriend, Hila, treated us to for our birthdays. We mixed two cocktails and chose the fillings for 32 pralines which we took home with us. Of course there was a siren in the middle of the workshop and we spent time standing in the stairwell of the building in Jerusalem where the workshop took place.

Am Yisra'el Chai! - The people of Israel live!

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun. and Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday).